13 Down, 39 to Go: New Marathon P.R.- 3:17:57

Whether I would "race" today was a game-time decision. I didn't decide last night, although I was leaning towards racing. I thought I would decide when I woke up. I woke up about 4:45, but when I awoke, I still couldn't decide. I slept just ok, but didn't feel too bad. I decided to get in the shower and stretch, and then decide.

After showering, with no time left to put off the decision, I thought "Lets just go for it." If I go out hard and crash, well I can still finish. And I can probably still finish in just as much time as if I went out slow. Yea, it will hurt more, but sometimes that is fun. So the plan was to head out at Boston pace, and see how long I could hold it. Before I completely crashed, I hoped to back off and try to finish well. I hope that I can build up enough cushion with the fast pace to still P.R. No, this isn't a good race strategy, but I didn't really care. And no, I had no expectation of actually qualifying for Boston.

So I got dressed (race attire, not slow-run attire) and headed out the door.

We have had some nice whether lately. But not today. Today it was cold and windy. Temperature at 6 a.m. was maybe 35. But with a 20+ mph wind out of the east, it felt more like the mid 20's. The race began about 7 miles away from the finish. They would bus us from the finish and then make us wait for 45 minutes before we started. It was setting up to be a cold affair.

At 7:00 (still pretty dark), the gun sounded (without notice) and we were off. I headed out pretty fast, trying to keep up with one of the first few packs. There were a couple well out front - which I knew I didn't want to go with - and then a couple of groups who looked like a 7 min/mile or so group. That's where I wanted to be (I historically go out way to slow -I now realize I have to go out fast to run a good time).

Mile one was 6:59. Maybe a little fast, but a good warm up mile. I dropped off that pace a little (as did several other people) and started to group up with those who also clearly were shooting for 7:15 pace (3:10 marathon). The picture on the left is that group (I can be seen with the black vest, yellow hat and black head band hiding behind the guy in the orange cap - I was hiding from the wind (photo by http://www.seekcrun.com/)). The next few miles would be right around 7:15.

Even through the first few miles, the wind would clearly be a factor. Not really paying attention, I thought we had a south wind, and a north-easterly run. But, after speaking with those around me, we definitely had a tough day ahead of us. Much of the run was easterly, right into the EAST wind. And to top that off, the toughest 4 miles of the course (14-18) was directly into the wind. Most of us knew that 3:10 would be a struggle, but we all had a good head about it. So, we stayed on pace.

Half-way through, we were dead on. 1:35:20 at the 13.1 marker. But, all good things come to an end. Once we turned the corner at mile 14, we started heading up a steep overpass and directly into the wind. It was very, very tough. (Honestly, we even formed a draft line, like cyclists, and the front person would take us up the hill and then drop back. Kinda funny.) We all dropped off pace a little, but still will able to hold 7:30's for a couple of miles. But the 4 miles into the wind were too much. By mile 17, I no longer had Boston in mind. The only thing on my mind was that I needed to maintain 7:45's or so the rest of the way to P.R.

I struggled for a few miles, but kept at it. I had a couple of 8:00+ miles, but always eased back down below 7:00. With 2 miles to go, I knew I could do it. Just needed to hang on to mile 25, then I would go for it. And I did. The last mile was about 7:15. I passed several of those who had left me at mile 17. The finish was in site, as was a P.R. Not only a P.R. but a chance at sub 3:18. I sprinted the last quarter mile or so, and crossed at 3:17:57. A new P.R. by about a minute and a half.

I ended up in 31st place overall out of 476 runners. 2nd place in my age group, out of 20 runners. 7:34 pace.

Great day. I feel really great about the P.R. I know I sell myself short and call myself a slow runner. I may not be someone who competes to win, but I am pretty happy to be up there. And every time I up myself, I remind myself how much fun it is to try to be "fast." I'm happy that I have developed a nice mix. I am happy to run comfortably and just to finish. But some days it really is nice to mix it up and go for a personal best.